Exploring Diverse Theories in Human Sexuality Research

1. Understanding Human Sexuality: Theory and ResearchChapter 2

2. Chapter 2 Outline • Theories About Sexuality • Psychological theories • Psychoanalytic theory • Behavioral theory • Social learning theory • Cognitive theory • Humanistic theory • Evolutionary theory • Biological theory • Sociological theories • Feminist theory • Queer theory

3. Chapter 2 Outline (Cont.) • Sexuality Research: Philosophers, Physicians, and Sexologists • Early sex research • Recent studies on sexuality • Politics and sex research • Sexuality Research • Early promoters of sexology • Sexuality research moves to the U.S. • Research studies on homosexuality • Other sexuality studies • Age-specific studies: teens and seniors

4. Chapter 2 Outline (Cont.) • Sex Research Methods and Considerations • Case studies • Questionnaires versus interviews • Direct observation • Participant observation • Experimental methods • Correlations

5. Chapter 2 Outline (Cont.) • Problems and Issues in Sex Research • Ethical issues • Volunteer bias • Samplings problems • Reliability • Sexuality Research Across Cultures • Sex Research in the Future: Beyond Problem-Driven Research

6. Theory and Research • Theories are the intellectual structure (assumptions, principles, methods) for understanding sexuality • Research helps answer questions about human sexuality • Many disciplines conduct research in sexuality, varying in the questions asked and scientific approaches taken

7. Theories About Sexuality • Many theories guide our thoughts about human sexuality • Most theorists utilize multiple perspectives

8. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the father of psychoanalysis, set the stage for all other psychological theories.

9. Psychoanalytic Theory • Freud (1856-1939) • Most influential psychological theory of sexuality • Sex drive is a very important life force • Two controversial concepts: • Personality formation • Psychosexual development

10. Personality Formation • Two drives (motivations): • Libido – life or sexual motivation • Thanatos – death or aggressiveness motivation • Two divisions to personality: • Three levels of operation • conscious, preconscious, unconscious • Three guiding identities • id, ego, superego

11. Levels of Operation • Conscious – information in awareness • Preconscious – information within recall, but not in awareness • Unconscious – inaccessible, the most important level of operation

12. Guiding Identities • Id – seeks immediate satisfaction • Ego – operates in reality; balances id and superego • Superego – values & restrictions; conscience • Psychoanalysis required if ego does not balance id and superego • Psychoanalysis brings unconscious thoughts into consciousness

13. Psychosexual Development • Basic personality formed within the first six years of life • Stages of development • Corresponding erogenous zones where libidinal energy is directed • Unsuccessful progression through each stage could result in fixation • Fixation occurs when libidinal energy is caught in that stage’s zone

14. Psychosexual Stages of Development Stage (time period): Zone • Oral (0-18 months): Mouth • Anal (18 months-3 years): Anus • Phallic (3-6 years): Genitals (Penis/Clitoris) • Boys: Oedipus complex, castration anxiety • Girls: Electra complex, penis envy • Latency (6 years-puberty): None • Genital (puberty-death): Genitals • No fixations resulted in a heterosexual adult

15. Behavioral Theory • Only study overt behavior; ignore internal states • Operant conditioning (Skinner) • reinforcement • punishment • Behavior modification – tool to change unwanted behavior • Aversion therapy

16. Social Learning Theory • Bandura • Basis in operant conditioning • Also consider internal events in affecting behavior • Identification and imitation of same-sex parent in development of our gender identity • Peer pressure influence on our sexuality

17. Cognitive Theory • Individual differences in processing information • Behavior is a result of our perceptions and conceptualizations of our environment • Largest sex organ – the brain • We are sexually aroused by what we think is sexually arousing

18. Humanistic Theory • Self-actualization – we try to be the best we can become • Unconditional positive regard allows us to become self-actualized

19. Biological Theory • Our sexuality is controlled by our physiology, genetics • Sexual problems due to physiological causes; interventions include medications or surgery

20. Evolutionary Theory • Combination of evolution and sociology • Sexuality serves mainly to reproduce • Primary goal is to pass on one’s genes • Consider mater preferences from an evolutionary perspective

21. Sociological Theory • Sexual expression varies across societies • Institutions influence rules societies hold regarding the expression of sexuality • Family • Religion • Economy • Medicine • Law • Media

22. Feminist Theory • Sexology is dominated by white, middle-class, heterosexist attitudes • Sexuality research is based on male sexuality • Social construction of sexuality based on power, historically held by men • Women as passive and submissive • Sexuality used by men to maintain power over women • Lack research on female orgasm, satisfaction

23. Queer Theory • Heterosexism and homophobia should be resisted • Heterosexism is not the norm, with all else deviant • Sexual categories are cultural constructions that limit and restrain

24. Early Sexuality Research • Variety of disciplines • Focus on abnormal and unhealthy practices • Victorian period (19th century) suspended sexuality research until physicians made it an appropriate topic as related to medicine • Primarily studied in Europe

25. Early Sexuality Research (Cont.) • Early 20th century it earned legitimacy with Freud, Ellis, and Bloch • Moved to the United States in 1920s, encouraged by the social hygiene movement • Limited funding for research

26. Recent Sexuality Research • Late 1980s, early 1990s increase in sexuality research • Prompted by HIV/AIDS • Primarily “problem-driven” research, not healthy sexuality • Pressure from conservative groups • Multiple disciplines studying sex has fragmented research

27. Recent Sexuality Research (Cont.) • Popular media sensationalizes and distorts information • Sexologist – researcher, educator, clinician specializing in sexuality; usually PhD • Researchers feel pressure to research select topics and avoid others • Academic programs specializing in human sexuality; need steady funding

28. Politics and Sex Research • Sexuality research changes with the political climate • Changing roles of women, development of birth control pills, and Kinsey’s work led to less acceptance for the double standard • HIV/AIDS crisis provided a new opportunity for sex research • Political resistance even today

29. Early Promoters of Sexology • Bloch (1872-1922): Published the Journal of Sexology beginning 1914 • Moll (1862-1939): In 1913, began the International Society for Sex Research; authored sexology books • Hirschfeld (1868-1935): Worked to better the treatment of homosexuals and bisexuals; developed an Institute for Sexology

30. Early Promoters of Sexology (Cont.) • Krafft-Ebing (1840-1902): Sexual pathology • Ellis (1859-1939): Published six-volume work on sexuality; refuted deviance of homosexuality and masturbation • All early researchers legitimized the study of sexuality • Findings lacked consistency and organization

31. Sexuality Research Moves to the United States • Mosher (1863-1940): First to ask Americans about their sexual behavior; helped married women have better sex lives • Bement Davis (1861-1935): Prostitution and STIs; homosexuality is not abnormal

32. Katharine Bement Davis (1861 – 1935) conducted some of the largest and most comprehensive sexuality studies to date.

33. Sexuality Research Moves to the United States (Cont.) • Kinsey (1894-1956): Most influential modern sexuality researcher • Atheoretical in the beginning because data on sexuality was lacking • He and 3 colleagues interviewed 18,000 subjects to obtain sexual life histories • Preferred use of 100% sampling • 1947, established the Institute for Sex Research

34. Sexuality Research Moves to the United States (Cont.) • Kinsey • 1948: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male • 1953: Sexual Behavior in the Human Female • Found many unacceptable activities to be widely practiced • Controversial work; had funding sources taken away

35. Alfred Kinsey (1894-1956) implemented the first large-scale survey of adult sexual behavior in the United States.

36. Sexuality Research in the United States (Cont.) • Hunt: Playboy Foundation study of American sexual behaviors (1974); volunteer bias prevents generalizability • Masters & Johnson: In 1954, began to study the anatomy and physiology of intercourse in the laboratory • Electrocardiograph • Electromyograph • Penile strain gauges • Photoplethysmographs

37. Virginia Johnson and William Masters were the first to bring sexuality into the laboratory.

38. To measure physiological changes during sexual arousal, researches rely on strain gauges and photoplethysmographs. A penile strain gauge is placed on the base of the penis to measure erectile changes in the penis, while a photoplethysmograph is inserted in the vaginal canal to measure changes I vaginal lubrication.

39. Sexuality Research in the United States (Cont.) • Masters & Johnson: Human Sexual Response (1966) • Four stage model • Women may have multiple orgasms • Sexuality stays with us as we age • Masters & Johnson: Human Sexual Inadequacy (1970) • Vaginal orgasms from clitoral stimulation

40. Research Studies Homosexuality • Few large-scale studies • Hooker: Early 1950s; professionals could not differentiate gay and straight males • Bell & Weinberg: Homosexualities (1978) • majority of homosexual men and women do not conform to stereotypes • aren’t sexual predators • homosexuals and heterosexuals are similar in intimate relationships

41. Dr. Evelyn Hooker published the first empirical study to challenge the psychiatric view that homosexuality was a mental illness. Her work ultimately led to the removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manualof Mental Disorders.

42. Research Studies Homosexuality • The Janus Report (1993): large survey on sexual behavior in the U.S.; sectioned out regions in the U.S.; not a random sample • National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS): Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels (1994); surveyed a representative sample of the U.S. on sexual behaviors and attitudes

43. Age-Specific Studies: Teens and Seniors • Teens • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2002) • National Survey of Adolescent Males (2002) • Seniors • Starr & Weiner (1981): Sexuality still important for seniors • Love, Sex, and Aging (1984)

44. Sex Research Methods and Considerations • Case study – thorough examination of one or few participants • Validity – accuracy of measurement • Reliability – consistency of measurement • Generalizability – ability of sample to be applicable to the population

45. Sex Research Methods and Considerations (Cont.) • Case studies – individual cases explored to form hypotheses; Freud • Questionnaires versus interviews – self-report attitudes, behavior, knowledge; Kinsey • Anonymity • Direct observation – focus on behaviors; Masters and Johnson • difficult to find subjects in sexuality research; expensive

46. Sex Research Methods and Considerations (Cont.) • Participant observation – researchers monitor within a natural environment; research conducted in a bar; much sexual behavior is in private • Experimental method – establish cause and effect due to increased control • Random assignment • Independent variable – manipulated • Dependent variable – measured • Costly, artificial, results may not relate to the real world; ethical constraints

47. Sex Research Methods and Considerations (Cont.) • Correlations – describes a relationship between variables • Used when experiments are not possible • Cannot establish cause and effect

48. Problems and Issues in Sex Research • Ethical Issues – informed consent, confidentiality • Volunteer Bias – there are differences between volunteers and nonvolunteers; poor generalizability • Sampling Problems – samples of convenience (college students); generalizability questioned • Reliability – changes over time; memory

49. Sexuality Research Across Cultures • Human Sexual Behaviors (1971) – one of the largest cultural studies • Many commonalities, differences • Analyse des Comportements Sexuels en France (1992) and NHSLS (2001) compared sexual behavior in France and the U.S. • Pfizer Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors (2002) – 1st global examination of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, satisfaction

50. Figure 2.2 Do you engage in sex at least weekly?